In case you have not heard, the Phillies have trimmed three more players from their spring training roster, assigning veteran righthanders Brian Sanches and Scott Elarton to the minors and optioning lefty Jake Diekman. All three pitchers are expected to open up the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

The cuts bring the total number of players in major league camp down to 37. One of those players is righthander Justin De Fratus, who is certain to the start the season in the minor leagues, assuming he does not start it on the disabled list as he continues to work his way back from a bout with elbow soreness that sunk his spring.

None of the roster cuts come as a surprise. Sanches and Elarton will be depth guys at Lehigh Valley, while Diekman could end up being this year's Mike Stutes. He struck out nine and walked one while allowing just one unearned run in five innings, putting himself in position for a potential call-up should the Phillies suffer an injury in the back end of their bullpen, particularly if that injury afflicts Antonio Bastardo.

First, the players still in camp:

REGULARS (8):

SS Jimmy Rollins

3B Placido Polanco

CF Shane Victorino

RF Hunter Pence

LF John Mayberry Jr.

1B Ty Wigginton

C Carlos Ruiz

2B Freddy Galvis

Starters (5)

RHP Roy Halladay

LHP Cliff Lee

LHP Cole Hamels

RHP Vance Worley

RHP Joe Blanton

Bench (3)

1B/LHB Jim Thome

C/LHB Brian Schneider

LF/1B/LHB Laynce Nix

Bullpen (6)

RHP Jonathan Papelbon

LHP Antonio Bastado

RHP Jose Contreras

RHP Chad Qualls

RHP Kyle Kendrick

RHP Mike Stutes

Bench Contenders (5)

OF/LHB Scott Podsednik

OF/LHB Juan Pierre

OF/RHB Lou Montanez

2B/3B/LHB Pete Orr

1B/3B/RHB Hector Luna

Bullpen Contenders (3)

LHP Joe Savery

LHP Raul Valdes

RHP David Herndon

Back-up Catchers (3)

C/LHB Erik Kratz

C/RHP Tuffy Gosewisch

C Tim Kennelly

Injured Players (4)

2B Chase Utley

1B Ryan Howard

UTIL Michael Martinez

RHP Justin De Fratus

As you can see, things are pretty much set. One question that we really haven't addressed concerns one of the last spots in the bullpen. I have been including Mike Stutes on the roster without much debate throughout the spring. But David Herndon is quietly having a solid spring, while Stutes has allowed some runs. It is tough to argue with Stutes' 10 strikeouts and two walks in nine innings, but I figured I'd mention the situation.

Among the questions left to answer: Who will be the team's utility man? Will the team add a right-handed bat that can play second base or outfield? Will the team keep six bench players or seven relievers? And who will fill out those spots?